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[USEC_OFFICER]

Sounds good enough to me. Do it.

[adwarf]

Sounds good enough to me. Do it.

I agree, but the Lieutenant must be named Taricus, and the next hero we get should be called Captain Adwarf[/jk]

EDIT: Actually I think the Lieutenant should be called 'Brick'

[RAM]

Given that we are a special equipment based empire, it would make sense that heroes would be given special equipment(due to our character's awareness of their influence on morale) that requires resources that are not practical to grant to a significant portion of our forces. But you need to be careful with that sort of thing, what is impractical now is unlikely to stay that way.

So something like using brute-force to replicate technology that is only a couple of levels away from being practical. Or just giving them a bonus to, or higher multiplier from, their technology scaling traits.

Can we create a magitech sniper unit that is equipped with a thaumic driver but is not an officer?

The paperback is a scout, not intended for combat, but with a recruit in it and the mana barrier up it could probably drive through a raider encampment without fear of destruction...

We will need to find out if a Thunderhead can traverse over water. Dealing with off-shore platforms will likely require some form of assault force and we would need a way to carry them there.
 As for the initial assault, I suspect that the thaumasled idea could be reworked into an all-environments assault vehicle. Mount some stabilising propulsion units on the sides to allow it to right itself in heavy seas. Block external gasses with sealable ventilation and preferably a reserve air supply. And give it a pair of top-mounted machine-gun Turrets, or one heavy machine gun turret if we can get HMGs.

I want Magitech infantry, but at the moment the elites are largely fulfilling that role. Infantry work best in large numbers and our squads are already filled with specialised entities. If we put the two reserve recruits into squad B then upgraded all of squad B's recruits into infantry then that would work well. But we are all excited about vehicles at the moment, so that isn't likely to happen. What would it take to give the infantry Personal Mana Barrier?

Tell them that we will deal with the raiders, lets say, within six months. They have probably been dealing with the raiders for long enough that six months sounds unlikely and we should be able to live up to it. Putting a time-frame on it will add an air of certainty and help build our reputation.

We should invest in some transport vehicles to improve salvage rates.

[Pandarsenic]

Given that we are a special equipment based empire, it would make sense that heroes would be given special equipment(due to our character's awareness of their influence on morale) that requires resources that are not practical to grant to a significant portion of our forces. But you need to be careful with that sort of thing, what is impractical now is unlikely to stay that way.

So something like using brute-force to replicate technology that is only a couple of levels away from being practical. Or just giving them a bonus to, or higher multiplier from, their technology scaling traits. This might be one answer, but there's also the fact that Magitech equipment is somewhat taxing upon whoever wields it with even a little overuse.

Can we create a magitech sniper unit that is equipped with a thaumic driver but is not an officer? You can develop a specialized Marksman pretty soon, with the research of a system that makes it easier for your warriors to manage the mana demands of higher-powered Magitech weapons. This also unlocks a few other weapons and the research for it is sort of a "Troop Diversity Pack" research item. An actual sniper is a special support unit consisting of a Sniper and Spotter that attacks and provides intel from off-map, highlights and attempts to kill any Morale Anchors (e.g. officers, heavy weapons) and force multipliers (generally also officers and heavy weapons. It also has the ability to deliver anti-vehicle ordnance (uses the Explosive damage type, which has a small splash, has no armor piercing, and oh by the way double damage to anything with the Vehicle tag) and some further Gravy when you start unlocking Doctrine: Espionage

The paperback is a scout, not intended for combat, but with a recruit in it and the mana barrier up it could probably drive through a raider encampment without fear of destruction... I would not recommend sending a 7-defense scout through an enemy encampment. It would end poorly. At best.

We will need to find out if a Thunderhead can traverse over water. Nope. Just getting the hover pods to work on sand dunes was a nightmare; getting aquatic stuff is gonna take a whole design rework of that system. Dealing with off-shore platforms will likely require some form of assault force and we would need a way to carry them there. There is the advantage of that you can recruit Invictus to your side if you bring transportation to them and sell them on the idea you come up with.
 As for the initial assault, I suspect that the thaumasled idea could be reworked into an all-environments assault vehicle. Mount some stabilising propulsion units on the sides to allow it to right itself in heavy seas. Block external gasses with sealable ventilation and preferably a reserve air supply. And give it a pair of top-mounted machine-gun Turrets, or one heavy machine gun turret if we can get HMGs. Mobility shifts you towards light MGs; Fortification would be the path most likely to get you the heavy MG unless you go for the "Reduces mana demands and doesn't afraid of anything" research weapons package.

I want Magitech infantry, but at the moment the elites are largely fulfilling that role. Infantry work best in large numbers and our squads are already filled with specialised entities. If we put the two reserve recruits into squad B then upgraded all of squad B's recruits into infantry then that would work well. But we are all excited about vehicles at the moment, so that isn't likely to happen. What would it take to give the infantry Personal Mana Barrier? It would require a way to make the mana barrier less demanding on them - similar to the weapon ease-of-use upgrade - but it's a defensive tech and you don't have any defensive Doctrines unlocked. Frankly, they don't need it that much. Raiders/Bandits/etc. tend to have rather high AP, often even more than their actual damage. This means that (unless you get the AP Negating kind, which is not going onto people until VERY late game (hell, even a Paperback can't handle one right now)) their minimum damage is in generally the same as their maximum damage, no matter how much defense you stack. That's when it becomes very important that Infantry has twice a Recruit's HP.

Tell them that we will deal with the raiders, lets say, within six months. They have probably been dealing with the raiders for long enough that six months sounds unlikely and we should be able to live up to it. Putting a time-frame on it will add an air of certainty and help build our reputation.

We should invest in some transport vehicles to improve salvage rates. A simple cargo truck design is as good as guaranteed if you research Magitech vehicles again, as long as you don't get a comically low roll. This would also be good for establishing trade with places you aren't hostile to.

[RAM]

Well, magitech vehicles would be nice, but the "Reduces mana demands and doesn't afraid of anything" research weapons package is difficult to refuse...

[Sean Mirrsen]

Btw, how about that attack hoverpod/hovercycle? It obviously lacks the integrity of even a Paperback, with the pilot exposed to the elements, but I suspect it'll push the "fragile speedster/glass cannon" property even further than a Paperback does. It'll be ideal for short range recon and harassment, but likely not something you send into long-range scouting forces due to the lack of enclosed space. We could probably modify a Thunderhead to carry three of them into battle within the cargo hold if we ever need high-speed firepower or some sort of Q-transport.

[LordSlowpoke]

Research > mana battery.

More on the magic side than the technological, this device draws from the ambient sources when idle, yet is made in a manner that blocks input from other batteries. It allows the storage of mana in case the user of magitech deplets his own field, in which case it starts either refilling it or pouring power straight into the device, depending on setting.

Seems good enough to me.

[cerapa]

So something like using brute-force to replicate technology that is only a couple of levels away from being practical. Or just giving them a bonus to, or higher multiplier from, their technology scaling traits. This might be one answer, but there's also the fact that Magitech equipment is somewhat taxing upon whoever wields it with even a little overuse.

Well, you could always say that the heroes are more magically inclined, and thus can handle more powerful magical equipment without taxing themselves.

Regarding trade, while Invictus might use the equipment and raw materials they produce for their own purposes, I highly doubt they get much use out of magitech parts they salvage. So maybe a trade agreement would be in order?

[Sean Mirrsen]

In the meantime, realizing that an Elite has more firepower than a scout hoverjeep, I drew him a bigger gun.

[Toaster]

Regarding trade, while Invictus might use the equipment and raw materials they produce for their own purposes, I highly doubt they get much use out of magitech parts they salvage. So maybe a trade agreement would be in order?

While I like that idea, what would we trade them?  We need everything we make right now, and they're clearly not interested in protection, else they would have joined up with us.

[cerapa]

Regarding trade, while Invictus might use the equipment and raw materials they produce for their own purposes, I highly doubt they get much use out of magitech parts they salvage. So maybe a trade agreement would be in order?

While I like that idea, what would we trade them?  We need everything we make right now, and they're clearly not interested in protection, else they would have joined up with us.

We do need everything we make. And thats exactly why we need to do everything as efficiently as possible. If we were to sell 1 equipment for 2 parts, then we would be doubling the power of our factories to produce parts and cutting the cost to make parts to 1 resource, just with a longer production line.

For them it would be getting rid of stuff they already passively find and is useless. We might even get a better deal depending on how important they think this stuff is.

[Pandarsenic]

Well, finalize your decisions and I can run stuff. :3

[cerapa]

Okay, voting.

I say we make a Thunderhead and upgrade as many recruits to infantry as we can.

Research whatever leads to the mana battery.

And propose the trade I proposed.

Dunno what the troops and stuff should do.

[RAM]

I would very much like it if we had access to mana batteries that could be plugged into some magitech equipment and permit a magically inert individual to operate the device. Obviously this wouldn't work with an invasive magitech interface and would be of limited power, but giving a raider commando a single use each of mana bomb and short-range teleport could result in a dramatic improvement in capabilities...

The downside is that it would create technology that would allow technology that is currently useful only to our own forces to be operated by other entities. Though we are likely to encounter other magitech powers eventually and the batteries would add bulk, resulting in reduced efficiency, and may well result in those who replicate our technology to be less potent than if they had developed their own...

[adwarf]

I think we need to research some non-magitech stuff seeing as we are currently putting everything we got on our magi-tech, but if we run into an enemy who can neutralize mana, or magitech items, then we won't be able to stand a chance in a fight against them.